Change!
by MeCakeandLove
Summary: Sometimes, things aren't always what they seem. Okay, maybe they sometimes are. Sometimes.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone! This will be the first ever story that I will be posting on this site. So I would appreciate constructive criticism!**

* * *

It's been one week. And Maki hasn't come to school.

"What could have happened to her?" Eri asked on a Friday after Maki's week-long absence. Rin suddenly perked up with a worried expression.

"What if Maki-chan was abducted by aliens, nya?!" Honoka seemed thoughtful for a moment before saying, "That might be possible!"

Nico then exclaimed, "There's no way that could've happened." before, also, looking thoughtful and then pounding a fist into her other hand,

"I know! Maybe she got really low grades and was too embarrassed to show up for school." Eri muttered something under her breath.

"What was that, Eri-chan?" Honoka asked. Eri then frantically waved her arms around.

"T-that w-was nothing, H-honoka, hahaha..."

Honoka narrowed her eyes at Eri before shrugging it off. Then she suddenly proposed another idiotic hypothesis,

"Maybe Maki-chan did the Sachiko Ever After charm and got whisked away to Heavenly Host Elementary!" Honoka then looked alarmed. "If that's the case, then we should do it too to save Maki-chan! I know the way out so don't worr-" She was cut off with a whack to her head.

"Enough Corpse Party for you." Umi's reprimanding voice said.

"But I was just about to play Book of Shadows!"

"Book of Shadows is just based off of a bad ending in Corpse Party."

"What?! I didn't know that!"

"Well, now you know."

Everyone else present in the room just sweat dropped.

"W-why don't we just...visit Maki-chan? I-i mean, t-to ask her w-why she isn't coming to school...?" Hanayo suggested. All the Muse members present, excluding Hanayo, looked at each other before looking back at Hanayo.

Nico was the one who broke the silence while slamming a fist into her other hand. "Of course! Why didn't I think of it before?"

'Wait, you mean she hasn't even thought of that at all?' Was everyone's thoughts.

"Well, that would be the best action plan, but didn't she send us all texts that say that she's sick and can't come?" Eri inquired.

"But, she's been sick for a week!"

"We really don't want to jump to conclusions here." Eri said softly.

"A visit wouldn't hurt now would it?" Nozomi said.

"I-i suppose not but..." Eri began.

"You're worrying too much, Ericchi."

"B-but..."

"Ericchi, we're going to check on Maki-chan. I expected no arguments from you."

Eri sighed in defeat, "Alright, practice is cancelled for today. Let's go see if Maki's alright."

She was met with a chorus of agreement.

* * *

They arrived in front of the Nishikino household panting and sweaty. Apparently, Nico had somehow persuaded them, along with Rin, to run all the way.

"I don't even want to know how you managed to convince us to run." Eri said in-between pants.

Nico smiled triumphantly albeit sweaty and tired from running, "Nobody can resist Super-Idol Yazawa Nico-nii!"

After everyone had a much deserved rest, they rang the doorbell. The door opened and a servant greeted them.

"Good afternoon," the servant said. "Are all of you looking for someone? Maki-san perhaps?"

"Woah, is Maki-chan's servant physcic?!" Honoka whispered to Kotori. Kotori just giggled at her childhood friend's thought.

"Err, yes, is she in?" Eri asked.

"Please follow me," the servant turned around to lead them to where Maki was. They did what they were told and followed the servant through the Nishikino household.

"Woah, Maki-chan's house is really big!" Rin commented.

The servant stopped right in front of a door (Maki's room, they guessed) and gestured to it.

"She is in here. Maki-san refuses to go outside and for us to come in."

Umi looked alarmed, "How is she eating then?!"

The servant replied, "We deduced that she goes out of her room to eat if missing plates and food is anything to go by."

All 8 of them looked worried, "Can we please talk to her?" Nozomi asked.

The servant bowed before leaving. Umi approached the door and knocked,

"Maki? Are you alright? Everyone's worried,"

A suspiciously high-pitched voice answered, "I told all of you that I'd be sick right? There's nothing to worry about."

Eri tried this time, "Come on, Maki, it's okay if your feeling something, just talk to us."

A muffled response. "Eri?"

"Yeah, it's me," Eri said softly. "Come on, you're going to have to tell them sooner or later."

Nozomi chipped in, "It'll be alright, Maki-chan. I already know so no point hiding it."

A disbelieving response. "...Y-you know...? Damn you, Eri..." An almost inaudible sigh. "...Fine.."

The sound of footsteps could be heard from the other side the door, followed by the rattling and turning of a door knob and finally, the door opened. Six pairs of eyes widened in genuine surprise.

"Maki...chan?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all! I'm very sorry for this really, really, really late update (Hey! That rhymed!). School was being a butt then I had to go to a National Workshop Seminar on Campus Journalism and Radio Broadcasting and finally, I was hospitalized for six days and then got discharged. Only to be brought back a day later because of low potassium and albumin levels (Whatever that means.) I stayed for three more days and then they let me go. So, basically, the last few months have been hell for me. I'm not asking for pity though, mind you. Though these are just excuses to convince you to forgive me after two months hiatus.**

 **Still, please enjoy what I've put together here and I hope that I won't disappoint you readers. Constructive criticism is very much welcome. Flaming is not.**

 **I forgot to put this in chapter 1,**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live! School Idol Project**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _The sound of footsteps could be heard from the other side of the door, followed by the rattling and turning of a door knob and finally, the door opened. Six pairs of eyes widened in genuine surprise._

 _"Maki...chan?"_

* * *

"Maki...chan? Why are you wearing...a bear suit?"

The redhead in question was indeed wearing a full-body brown bear suit that covered her face. She also seemed to be taller than the last time they saw her. She looked to be about a few inches taller than Eli, who was the tallest among them. Was.

 _Hmm... Maki-chan must've hit a growth spurt._ Hanayo thought.

The head of the suit turned away indicating that Maki had turned her head in the same direction.

"C-can't I wear a bear suit i-in my own house?" her voice was muffled, probably because of the bear head, but still understandable.

Nico shook her head. "No, you can't. Who the hell wears bear suits in their houses in the first place?! Actually, don't answer that."

Eli shook her head in exasperation. Nozomi giggled beside her.

"Well, aren't you going to let us in?" Nico asked the bear suit-clad redhead.

Maki immediately went into tsun mode. "O-of course I was! Don't be an idiot."

With permission from the owner granted, all 8 members of Muse were ushered inside.

Maki's room was big, they had to say.

With their view point from the hallway, they couldn't really see much, coupled with Maki standing in the doorway. But now that they were inside, they could really observe the interior of the room. The walls were white with wood bordering along the length of the wall. The floor was polished wood and there was a study desk pushed to the right side of the wall. The bed was on the right side of the room, the door overlooking it, and beside the bed were a number of book shelves filled to the brim with books.

A bedside table was to the right of the bed with a lamp for reading placed on top. A flatscreen T.V. was placed atop a low wooden cabinet and a coffee table was in between the T.V. and a sofa. The cabinet's doors were made of glass so they could see what was placed inside. Inside were a surprising number of handheld and gaming consoles arranged neatly in chronological order of when they were first released. Retro gaming consoles were on a top shelf inside the cabinet while the newer ones were on the bottom shelf.

From where they were standing (Meaning to say, right in front of the door), a wide window was directly into view. Here, you would be given a great view of the sunrise/sunset and the neighborhood.

Nico's eyes immediately darted toward the T.V. and gaming consoles. "Woah! I didn't know Maki-chan was such a geek!" When she motioned to open the glass doors of the cabinet, a furry hand stopped her.

"Don't touch those." Was the simple command Maki gave to the raven-haired senior. Maki's voice was laced with ice, coupled with the smiling bear head Maki wore, that made Nico shiver and retreat behind Nozomi and Eli. Eli gave a little smirk to her while Nico glared at Eli.

Rin and Hanayo were browsing through the book shelves which mostly contained books about the stars, constellations, galaxies and the like though there were a few books about neuroscience and anatomy.

"Maki-chan sure has a lot of books, nya!" Rin said while taking a book about planets and flipping through the pages. "Look, Kayo-chin! It says here that some astronomers have found planets light years away that could potentially have housed living things."

Hanayo looked over Rin's shoulder to read the paragraph Rin was reading earlier on.

"Oh, it really does!"

Rin beamed at her. "Then that means we can live on other planets now!"

"I think that's going too far ahead, Rin." Umi said while walking over to the two. "It just says 'could potentially house' which means they're not sure, but they've found some things."

Rin pouted. "Ehh, but still, it'd be really cool to live on other planets. Right, Umi-chan, nya?"

"Well, I suppose so. And the fact that if our planet gets too contaminated and is destroyed by the foolish acts of other human beings, we have another option and living space." Kotori had walked over by then to listen in on the conversation. "And if none of that happens, the Sun will become a red dwarf in a few million years or so and if it chooses to die via explosion also known as a supernova, then we can evacuate before that happens."

When Umi finished, Hanayo was desperately fanning an overheating Rin on the floor, to no avail.

"I think you broke her, Umi-chan." Kotori said from beside her.

"E-eh? I did?"

"Kayo-chin, I think I see the Ramen Angels coming. They taste so delicious~"

"Rin-chan! Stay with me!"

Honoka was left to the corner of the room, sulking because she wasn't mentioned too much in the previous chapter.

Maki watched all of this unfold with a sigh.

"So, Maki-chan, when are you going to tell them?"

Maki nearly jumped out of the bear suit.

"Nozomi! What did I tell you about sneaking up on other people?" Eli reprimanded.

Nozomi put on an innocent smile. "Not to?" Eli shook her head in exasperation.

"Seriously, you're going to be the death of me."

"But you still love me, don't you?"

Eli's face exploded into a light show. Maki was trying really hard not to face palm.

While everyone was off to their own shenanigans, Nico had discreetly (not really) took a GameBoy Advance system from the earlier mentioned cabinet and hid behind some bookshelves. She took out a Super Mario Bros. 3 cartridge from the pocket of her school blazer and inserted it into the slot.

"It's been so long since I played a round of this." She said as she turned the GameBoy on. After a few minutes, Everyone began to notice that Nico was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, wait, I think I hear something coming from over there." Maki said, pointing to the bookshelf Nico was hiding behind. Nico immediately tensed up and stopped playing, not caring that Mario was already losing the power-ups, as footsteps approached her hiding place.

Maki looked behind the bookshelf to find... a cowering Nico on all fours, trying to hide behind another bookshelf. She turned her head slowly, almost mechanically, and raised a hand.

"H-hey, e-everyone," Then she put her hands in her (in)famous Nico-nii position. "Nico-Nico-ni-" She was cut off by Nozomi appearing behind her, doing groping motions in the air.

"Nicocchi, if you don't tell us what you were doing here, I'm going to Washi Washi you."

Nico immediately bowed down. "I am very sorry. I have committed theft."

"Theft?" Maki asked. Then she noticed her GameBoy Advance on the floor with a Super Mario Bros. 3 cartridge in the slot. "Ohh, so that's how it is, is it?"

Nico's form began to quiver in fear of her life. She closed her eyes tight, fearing for the worst, when she heard muffled laughter coming from a certain redhead. Nico opened her eyes and saw Maki (Well, the bear suit,) doubling over in laughter. The Muse members were looking at Maki like she was insane but Rin was still passed out.

"E-eh? M-maki-chan? You're n-not mad?" Nico asked wearily, eyeing the redhead. Maki's laughter died down and she looked straight at Nico. Which was very awkward because the bear head's default face was a smiley face.

"Of course not," She then put a hand to her hip. "You know, you could have just asked."

Eli face palmed. Umi shook her head with a sigh. Nico's jaw dropped.

"I-i...could have just...asked?"

"Uhh, yeah. I'm not literally gonna bite you."

"B-but you said not to touch those."

"Not to touch those _without_ permission. Earlier, you didn't have permission and you called me a geek so naturally I would stop you." Maki shrugged. Nico opened and closed her mouth like a fish. Eli clapped her hands.

"I hate to rain on your parade but...Aren't we forgetting the real reason we came here?"

Honoka finally had screen time in this whole chapter and said, "I remember! We were here to have fun!"

Umi face palmed. "She finally has screen time and she goes and says something stupid..."

Kotori patted Umi's head. "Now, now, Umi-chan. It wouldn't be Honoka-chan if she didn't say something like that."

"I guess you're right."

Eli spoke up again. "You guys really don't remember?"

Six heads shook. (Rin's still passed out.)

"Nozomi! Why are you shaking your head?"

"Because I really forgot." Nozomi then added, "...Just kidding!"

Eli ignored that and continued. "We were all here to check up on Maki, right?"

Six heads nodded. Eli ignored the sixth nod.

Honoka piped up. "But Maki-chan is fine!" Nico got up from the floor and crossed her arms, nodding in agreement. "Right, right,"

Umi, being the rational one, said, "She's obviously not fine if she's wearing a bear suit now, is she?"

"I-i guess not." Hanayo stuttered.

"Come one, Maki," Eli coaxed. "Just tell them already and take off that damn bear suit. It's been giving me the chills since we first saw you."

Maki turned to glare daggers at Eli. "Not helping,"

Nozomi then thought of something. "Maki-chan, if you tell them already, you'll feel a whole lot better."

Maki then turned to her. "B-better? I've always been better."

"Says the one in the bear suit and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet."

Maki retorted. "S-so what? That d-doesn't prove anything."

"Maki-chan, I'm going to buy you that new game you've always wanted if you spill."

"R-really?!" Maki cleared her throat. "I mean, f-fine... you win."

Nozomi smiled triumphantly. "That's a good bear." Honoka and Nico had to hold back their laughter.

Maki lifted the bear head off and red hair slowly peeked out until it was totally off.

Rin woke up just in time to see. "Did I miss anything...nya?"

Eyes widened for the second time that day.

"Ehhhh!?"


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm really sorry for the super-duper-mega late update guys. I'm also sorry that this is so short.  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live! School Idol Project**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _Eyes widened for the second time that day._

 _"Ehhhh!?"_

* * *

"Ehhhh!?"

What they saw was not what they had expected. Maki's hair was relatively shorter but still the vibrant red it had always been. Hair was slightly mussed up from wearing the bear head and Maki's eyes were smaller and a bit sharper than before. Even with the bear suit (minus the head), they could tell right away that this wasn't Maki. Not the Maki they knew anyway.

"The truth's finally out, huh?" Nozomi mused. Eli just sighed. She'd been doing a lot of sighing, huh?

Umi smiled reassuringly at Maki. The others were looking at Maki in shock, the room in the air tensing with each passing minute.

"M-maki-chan! What the...?" Nico uttered out, still in a state of shock.

"H-here's the reason I was wearing this weird-ass bear suit." Woah, even Maki's voice was deeper. "I tell you, it was so hot in this thing." Male Maki said while slightly shifting the bear head in his hands.

"Uh, hello?" Maki said while a waving a furry hand. Everyone seemed to snap out of the trances they were in.

"Ehhhh!?"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight, Nozomi and Eli knew that you had somehow turned into a boy, while Umi had a slight idea of what was going on." Nico said while pinching the bridge of her nose.

She was greeted with a nod from the redhead.

Nico then asked the question that was on everybody's minds. "How the hell did you turn into a boy?"

Maki shrugged. "I have no idea, really. I just woke up and bam! I'm a boy."

"Did some symptoms show up, maybe? Prior to your transformation that is." Umi asked.

Maki thought for a moment. "Well, my excuse to you guys wasn't a total lie. A few days before, I was feeling pretty under the weather."

"Under the weather?"

"The symptoms were like the start of influenza, so I called in sick. I just thought I was going down with something, not this."

Eli tensed. Nozomi seemed to notice this. "Elicchi? Is something wrong?" Eli waved her hands around frantically.

"N-no! N-nothing's wrong, Nozomi."

"The cards say otherwise." Nozomi held up a card. The Moon. "Elicchi, is there something you're not telling us?"

"...I'm beginning to wonder if I could hide anything from you, Nozomi."

Nozomi smiled. "No, you can't. Because I'll make sure to know everything about my Elicchi."

"...That sounds kinda creepy but okay."

"I hate to interrupt your blatant flirting but, Eli, what are you not telling us?" Nico asked with impatience.

Eli tugged at her collar. "I, uh, may know how this happened..."

"What?! You do?"

"Y-yeah...hahah.." Eli rubbed the back of her neck.

"Stop stalling already." Maki demanded. "Spill. Now."

Eli sighed. "Alright. Well, remember when you found me in the science lab?"

* * *

 _Maki walked into the science lab one afternoon, wanting to grab the few notes she had left here earlier. What she found was Eli in a lab coat and protective goggles, a test tube and a small beaker in hand._

 _"Eli?"_

 _Eli looked up from whatever she was doing and smiled. "Oh, hey Maki. What brings you here?"_

 _"Just came here to pick up a few notes I left here. What are you doing here?"_

 _Grabbing another pair of protective goggles, Eli quickly pulled Maki to her work space and shoved the goggles into her hands._

 _"Wear these. I'll show you what I've been working on."_

 _Maki did as she was told and put the protective glasses on. Eli got a test tube filled with a reddish substance and got a dropper as well. She sucked up a bit of the substance with the dropper and put one drop of it inside the beaker she was holding earlier. A little blast of red smoke puffed into the air. The liquid immediately turned velvet in color._

 _"And... What am I looking at here?" Maki asked._

 _"This, my dear Maki, is my newest creation! It turns you into the animal you are visualizing after drinking it." Eli explained. "And it tastes like chocolate! Artificial flavouring."_

 _Maki looked really weirded out. "...Why on earth would you create something like that? Chocolate flavoured no less."_

 _"Because I wanted to." Eli replied._

 _Maki looked at Eli with a serious expression. "Eli, are you sure you don't need a physician? Because it looks like you do."_

 _Eli crossed her arms in adorable fashion and whined. "You're so mean, Maki!"_

 _"I was being serious."_

 _Eli was about to retort when she suddenly thought of an idea. She smiled at Maki sweetly._

 _"Maki, dearest,"_

 _"Who the hell are you calling dearest?!"_

 _"Would you like to try it?"_

 _Eli held a little shot glass filled with the substance to Maki's face. Maki eyed it wearily._

 _"Of course not. Do you think I'm an idiot to try something that will potentially harm me. I'm sure that you don't even have the antidote to that, do you?"_

 _"Hey! I was getting to that part." Eli retorted._

 _Maki huffed and crossed her arms. "In any case, I am not trying that chocolate flavored abominatio-" Maki felt something cold drench her school shirt and blazer. She looked down to find a very familiar velvet substance slowly seeping through her clothing._

 _Eli had accidentally(?) tripped and thrown the shot glass filled with the substance onto Maki. She scratched the backside of her head and smiled sheepishly._

 _"Oops?"_

 _Eli made a run for it._

* * *

"Wait, so you're telling me your hair-brained creation was the one that turned me into this?" Maki asked, bewildered. Eli shrugged.

"I'm not really sure but this is a start. Assuming that my creation was the one that turned you into a boy, then I may be able to make an antidote. Though I'll have to change some ingredients since my first attempt failed." Eli sighed.

"...I knew I should have strangled you."

Everyone stood in silence after that. Kotori was the one to break it.

"So...What now?"


End file.
